Man with case of butane bottles leads Placerville police to drug lab

A pedestrian who was stopped by Placerville police when they spotted him with a case of new butane bottles was arrested on suspicion of manufacturing butane honey oil.

Officers stopped a man late Wednesday night at 1296 Broadway. He allegedly lied to officers about his identity, giving the name of a person with whom officers were familiar. When officers confronted him about this, the man identified himself as 32-year-old Nicholas Adams.

Officers went to Adams’ residence off Darlington Avenue in Placerville. During a search of the home, they found a THC extraction lab, commonly referred to as a “honey oil” lab, in the garage, according to a Police Department news release.

Adams was arrested and booked into El Dorado County Jail on suspicion of operating a drug extraction lab. He is being held in lieu of $200,000 bail.

Honey oil, also referred to as “hash oil” or “wax,” is created by using butane to extract THC from marijuana. Police noted that Gov. Jerry Brown last week signed a bill, SB 212, that will increase sentencing guidelines for hash oil and methamphetamine labs in residential neighborhoods. The law, which will go into effect Jan. 1, 2016, makes producing butane hash oil in a residential neighborhood an aggravated felony.

In January 2014, Placerville police officers responded to an apartment fire at Woodridge Apartments, in which residents of the complex were injured. Police said it was later determined that a honey oil lab had exploded, causing the fire.